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November, 2003
Copyright © 2003 University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents
These are times of rapid change. Will Rogers said, "Even if you're on the
right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." No university or college
or department can remain static for long. Neither can an institution survive
for long with knee-jerk responses to change. Strategic planning should
minimize crisis-mode decision-making.
Mission
Why do we exist?
Who is affected by our work?
What are their needs?
What is the University's plan?
What are our primary functions for
carrying out our mission?
Strategic Priorities
In what major directions will we focus our
efforts to advance toward our vision?
Do our strategic priorities support those of
our school/college/division and the
Operating Principles University?
With whom will we link to accomplish
What are our organizational these goals?
values and principles?
How will we know we've improved?
Annually
Vision
Where do we want to be in 3-5 years?
What will be our stakeholders' needs?
Traditional financial resources for the support of higher education are not
likely to increase. Cut-backs are the norm in educational financing. Yet
demands for services continue to expand. Strategic planning gives the
university, the college, the department, and the administrative unit the
opportunity to chart its own course and to focus its own future. Jurinksi
(1993) calls strategic planning an intellectual exercise. As such, the process
is uniquely suited to higher education.
It is sometimes thought that strategic planning is just another buzz word for
long-range planning. There are major differences between strategic planning
Related to the first difference is the fact that traditional long-range planning
tends to maintain the status quo over time. Assuming that the future will be
a linear extension of the present, planners typically spend little time
attempting to reshape the organization. Strategic planning is much more
likely to result in a deliberate shift in direction or refocusing of mission in
light of changes, actual or anticipated.
Since long-range planning has generally been oriented to the status quo,
visioning was not a critical component. Strategic plans, however, are
developed around a vision of success or a vision of the desired future. This
idealized word picture represents the best possible future for the institution.
The plan helps the make this shared vision a reality.
Keller (1983) says that strategic planning places the fate of the institution
above all else.
The dark side of strategic planning is not so very dark, but it is has some
inherent hazards. Jurinski (1993) says that strategic planning efforts that fail
typically do so because the organization underestimated the required amount
of time, effort and money from the start. The process takes time. It is
difficult for any organization or group to go through a strategic planning
process in less than two concentrated days in addition to shorter preparatory
sessions and later meeting(s) to revise plans based on feedback. Figure 1.1
shows the steps in a strategic planning model which has been used at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison. From the day the decision is made to create
a strategic plan, several months are generally required to complete the
process. (Most of this time is lead time for scheduling the major planning
session.) Some planning efforts occur over many months and even years.
This long time line is generally not advisable or necessary. People become
exhausted by the process and the effort loses momentum.
Strategic planning can be risky in that deliberate decisions are made to focus
or refocus the organization. This means that "something has to go" or at the
very least, "something has to change." One of the hallmarks of strategic
planning is fresh, bold approaches that break through barriers. Ideally, these
new strategies propel the organization to its vision. In the worst case
scenario, poorly considered strategic decisions can be disastrous. One
purpose of having a broadly representative group of internal and external
stakeholders involved is to help avoid organizational decisions that would be
viewed retrospectively as errors.
People
Having the right people means that all the key stakeholders are
represented in some way. Usually this is done through a
representation system where each participant in the planning event is
there representing a particular stakeholder group--students, business,
faculty, classified staff, academic staff, affiliated agencies and the like.
The responsibility of all participants is to take the preliminary planning
results back to the group they represent to receive feedback. This
feedback, both positive and negative, is then brought back to the
group and used for revising the draft plans.
Data
One of the connections between strategic planning and continuous
quality improvement is the reliance on data as the basis for decision-
making. Data on stakeholder/customer needs and their evaluation of
existing services are required for the planning process. The more hard
data that are available to describe the current situation, the better the
chances of a good plan. Strategic planning in the absence of reliable
data can be dangerous. Yet, it is not unusual to find organizations
planning for the future with little or no reliable information about the
true state of affairs. Some organizations find, upon beginning a
strategic planning process, that they must create a temporary plan
while collecting crucial data on which to base subsequent strategic
planning.
Preparation
Those who are planning the future of their department, school, college
or institution should be adequately prepared for the task. It is unwise
to plan without some notion of the many alternative directions and
what others have found to be successful. It is common for an
educational institution to invite futurists to speak to the planning team
prior to the planning event. This helps loft people's thinking past the
issues of today and later helps them create the vision of a desired
future. Outstanding videotapes are available on change and paradigm
shifts. Seeing and discussing these programs helps individuals to
prepare to make the small and large changes that are inevitable with
or without a strategic plan. Some planning groups have brief book
Strategic Planning in the University 8
reviews in which each member reports on the a current book that
illuminates the organization's choices. Some groups visit other
institutions to get ideas on what is working successfully elsewhere.
Preparation that expands the group's perception of what is possible
and desirable creates the most innovative and bold plans.
Planning has been one of the traditional "ings" of management. Some leaders
initially experience discomfort at the idea of involving all levels of staff in
planning. Some might view involving all levels of staff in planning as
abrogating their responsibility. The leader's responsibility, however, is to
ensure that a sound planning process occurs and that the budget follows the
plan. Thus the leader's role is to create the structure for planning and to
participate in the process fully. James Renier, Honeywell Corporation,
commented on broad involvement in planning:
At some point you've go to loosen the reins, delegate. It's almost like being
on a battlefield in a fog. It's too much to ask the commander to describe the
terrain as if the fog wasn't there...we've got to be willing to listen and say,
well, someone else has seen through part of the fog so we'd better listen
carefully to that person.
This is new work for most experienced managers, many of whom rose
to the top because of their decision-making and problem-solving skills,
not their skills in mentoring, coaching and helping others learn.
(p.345)
Quality may be defined as meeting the needs and exceeding the expectations
of stakeholders. It is difficult to imagine an organization dedicated to
continuously improving its services or products that does not have a strategic
plan. One of W. Edwards Deming's basic requirements for continuous quality
improvement is constancy of purpose (Gabor, 1990). It is significant that
virtually all strategic planning models begin with reviewing, refining or
creating the mission statement based on stakeholders and their needs. The
mission statement then becomes the foundation upon which all subsequent
planning builds.
Budgets are basically links between financial resources and human behavior
in order to accomplish policy objectives or in other words, budgets are a
series of goals with price tags attached.
Aaron Wildavsky (1984)
The budgeting process outlined here becomes a very public and intelligible
activity in contrast to traditional line item budgeting which Wildavsky says
de-emphasizes overt conflict among competing programs. A process that
seeks to minimize overt conflict, he says, "encourages secret deliberations,
non-partisanship, and the recruitment of personnel who feel comfortable in
sidestepping policy decision most of the time" (p. 137).
A certain amount of the total budget can be set aside for opportunistic or
entrepreneurial activities that do not necessarily align with the strategic plan.
The discretionary budget is a relatively small percentage of the whole, as
salaries comprise the majority of the budget in most higher education
institutions. Currently, it is not unusual that the entire discretionary budget
for a department is used for entrepreneurial activities, with little or no
departmental focus.
Note that in the Program Plans and Budget Requests form in Figure 1.2,
requests for positions, equipment, and materials over $500. are submitted as
resources needed to accomplish objectives. It has been a practice at the
University of Colorado at Boulder that no new positions are approved without
a formal strategic plan which shows how the position will enhance
effectiveness of the plan. Individual programs, majors, or other subunits
submit their plans and budget requests using the form in Figure 1.2.
Program(s):
Department:
Submitted by:
1. Major Accomplishments:
(Anticipated status at the end of the semester. List appropriate data and/or
projected accomplishments related to last year’s plans.)
5. Objectives:
6. What are the curriculum or program changes for the upcoming year?
9. List new major equipment required (in priority order, $500 and up):
Department:
Programs/Cost Centers Included:
Chair:
1. Major Accomplishments: (What has the department achieved in the past year?)
5. Objectives:
List objectives proposed for What College and/or University Strategic Directions are
next year: addressed by each objective?
Identify your facility change/ How do these priorities relate to the goals/objectives of
capital exercise priorities. the department?
9. What are the implications for other departments or services? (Attach a separate
sheet for this. It will be distributed to the appropriate departments.)
Figure 1.3 is the Department Chair's Planning and Budget Priorities form.
This is the department chair's priority plan which includes requests for
resources. Note that the proposed objectives are shown in relation to a
strategic direction. Thus the chair (and/or appropriate committee) still makes
budgetary decisions, however, the criteria for these decisions are known in
advance and the financial decision-making process is made explicit.
1. Does the mission concisely state what will be done for whom?
A concise mission statement telling what the organization does for whom
is the ideal beginning of a strategic plan. If this mission is not clear and
agreed upon, the rest of the process will be unsatisfactory. A rambling
mission statement is less effective than a finely pointed statement. The
mission for the University of Wisconsin-Madison is interpreted as follows:
to "create, integrate, transfer and apply knowledge."
8. Does the plan show that choices have been made in terms of types
of service or activities, delivery system, who will be served,
geographic scope, processes used, and the like?
This question assumes that measures of success have been identified for
goals and/or key activities. These measures of success should go beyond
"process" measures such as “report completed” or "course redesigned"
although these process measures are also important. Kaplan and Norton
(1996) characterize strategy as a set of hypotheses about cause-and-
effect relationships. Feedback (termed “measures of success” here)
should be able to "test, validate, and modify the hypotheses imbedded in
...strategy" (p. 84). For example, the decision of an academic department
to redesign a course or courses is based on the assumption that
something will improve as a result. If no attempt is made to determine
what changed as a result of the effort (Did students grasp key concepts
as reflected in exam grades? Did a higher percentage satisfactorily
complete? Could students demonstrate deeper levels of understanding
and mastery?), the department has no way to know if its hypothesis was
right and whether the work of redesigning was worth the effort. Even
more importantly, if nothing is learned about the effects of the redesign
beyond the fact that it was done, the faculty have no new information on
which to base future decisions about course redesign.
11. Are formal progress reports presented at least once during each
year?
To ensure that progress is being made toward meeting the goals that
move the organization in its strategic directions, it is essential that
progress reports are presented to the organization at least once in a
given fiscal year. Holding people accountable for specific activities helps
ensure that the plan is not forgotten. In fact, check dates should be
identified for each goal or major activity early in the planning process.
12. Is there a copy of the strategic plan (or a summary) in the hands
of every full-time staff member?
Not only should employees have a piece of paper that outlines the
mission, vision and strategic direction of their department,
school/college/division or institutions, employees should be able to
articulate the key themes. If the strategic plan cannot be generally
understood by the people who make it a reality, it is not much of a plan.
One of the major reasons for going through a planning process is to help
focus the efforts of an organization. It would be counter-productive to
make those decisions and then ignore them during times of crisis or
stress. Since new opportunities and problems will continually present
themselves, the plan should serve as a guide for dealing with them. If
the plan doesn't offer guidance on which issues or needs to pursue or
address and which should be left to others, something is lacking. Either
the plan's power to inform decision-making has not be fully realized or
the plan itself is too abstract to be useful or there were opportunities
As was suggested earlier, it is essential that the budget follow the plan.
If there is no intention to align resources with the planning process or
no feasible mechanism with which to do so, there is little point to
engaging in the exercise. Internal and external constituents can become
cynical and hostile if they have devoted their time and energy to a task
that has no real impact on resource decisions.
Bryson (1988) provides good advice regarding the utility of planning, "It is
strategic thinking and acting that are important, not strategic planning." He
says that any strategic planning activity that gets in the way of strategic
thought and action should be scrapped (p. 2).
1. Does the mission concisely state what will be done for whom?
4. Is there evidence that data on the needs of all the stakeholders but
especially those from outside of the organization were sought and
used in the planning process?
8. Does the plan show that choices have been made in terms of types
of service or activities, delivery system, who will be served,
geographic scope, processes used, and the like?
Gabor, A. (1990). The man who discovered quality. New York: Random
House.
Mintzberg, H. (1994). The rise and fall of strategic planning. New York:
Macmillan, Inc.